Thomas j



QN" Moc'lel') T. J. GRIFFIN.

' G oTToN GIN.

i UNTTnn STATESl THOMAS eT IGRIFEIN, OF GALVESTON,

TEXAS, ASSIGNOR, BY DIRECT AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, OF FOUR-FIFTHS TO H.RIEDEL, ED. MCCARTHY,

AND N. VEEKS, OF SAME PLACE.

COTTON-GIN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 581,069, dated April20, 1897. Application iiled January 20, 1896. Serial No. 576,217. (Nomodel.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS J. GRIFFIN, aA citizen of the United States,residing at Galveston, inthe county of Galveston and State of Texas,have invented a new and useful Cotton-Gin, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to cotton-gins; and it has for its object toprovide a new and use- Io ful saw-cleaning attachment for gins of thatcharacter employing a cylinder or gang of saws.

To this end the main and primary object of the invention is to dispensewith the use of the ordinary cleaning-brush which is usually arranged atone side of the saws for the purpose of cleaning the lint or fibertherefrom. The employment of rapidly-revolving cleaning-brushes inconnection with the saws of the gin is attended with many disadvantages,such, for instance, as the necessity of a constant read justment of thebrush with relation to the saws and the great risk of fire caused by theintense friction resulting from the rapid rotation of thesaw-bristles incontact with the saws.

The present invention therefore provides simple and efficient means forpositively relieving the saws from the fiber or lint clinging 3o theretowithout any of the objectionable results incident to the employment ofthe cleaning-brush.

With these and other objects in View, which will readily appear as thenature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in thenovel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinaftermore fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view 4o of a cotton-ginequipped with the herein-described saw-cleaning attachment. Fig. 2 is atransverse sectional View on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, l designates the casing of anordinary saw cotton-gin having therein the usual cylinder or gang ofgin-saws 2, arranged closely together and operating in connection wit-hthe ordinary saw-ribs 3 to provide for tearing or separating the lintfrom the seed in the usual manner.

In the present invention the cleaning-brush, which is usually arrangedat one side of the saws for the purpose of cleaning the lint or fibertherefrom, is dispensed with, and in place thereof a blast of air isemployed to effect the necessary cleaning of the saws. This blast of airis supplied through a blast-supply pipe 4, which is preferably arrangedon top of the gin-casing and maybe used in connection with a battery ofgins, said blast-supply pipe 4 being conveniently connected with asuitably-arranged blast-fan which forces air under pressure through thepipe.

The blast-supply pipe 4 on top of the gin casing or stand has fitted tothe under side thereof the upper ends of a series of dependingblast-nozzles 5, being arranged in the same number as the saws 2 of thegin, so that a single blast-nozzle will operate in connection with eachseparate saw. The blast-nozzles 5 are forwardly inclined and areprovided at their lower ends with the curved jet-tips G, which liedirectly beyond and adjacent to the peripheries of the saws, so that theair blast or current will be forced directly on the teeth of the saws toprovide for positively blowing the clinging lint or fiber off of thesame and into the lint-discharge flue 8, built within the gin casing orstand and leading from a point directly at the rear side of the saws outto one side of the casing or stand.

The curved j et-tips 6 at the lower extremities of the blast-nozzles 5are disposed in a position adjacent to the peripheries of the saws anddirectly at the upper side and inner end of the discharge-flue 8, sothat the blast of air will be directed downward against the teeth of thesaws and against the inclined deflecting-board 9, arranged transverselyat the lower side and inner end of the discharge-flue The inclineddeflecting-board 9 is disposed in very close proximity to theperipheries of the saws 2, in a plane in direct alinement with thedisposition of the curved jettips 6, so that the blast of air from thejettips and the lint carried therewith will strike the upper side of thesaid board and will be deflected outward through the discharge-Hue 8,from whence the lintis carried to the condensers in the usual way.

At a point intermediate of its inner and outer ends the substantiallyhorizontal disn charge-ii ue S is provided in its lower side with abottom mote-escape opening l0, which allows sand and other motesloosened from the lint to iind its escape out through the discharge-Hueand into the bottom of the casing or stand of the gin.

In connection with the operation of the blast-nozzles 5 it is to benoted that it is very important that a blast of air is forced directlyon the teeth of each saw, because it will be readily understood thatsince each saw pulls its own body of cotton through the ribs 3 it isnecessary that a separate blast be directed on the teeth of each saw inorder to provide for properlyv removing the clinging lint or iibertherefrom, which result could not be accomplished by an arrangement ofthe blastnozzles between the saws. Furthermore, the disposition ot thedellecting-board 9 not only provides for the proper outward deflectionof the air and cotton, but also allows the blast of air from eachjet-tip 6 to reach anumber of teeth on each saw and thereby obtain alifting purchase behind the lint or ber clinging thereto, as will bereadily understood by those skilled in the art.

Changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of constructionmay be resorted to without departing from the principle or sacrificingany of the advantages of this inyention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed, and desired to besecured by Letters Patent, is-

In a cotton-gin, the combination with the casing 'and the gin-sawstherein; of a discharge-flue arranged within the casing and provided atits lower side and extreme inner end with an inclined delecting-boardhaving its upper edge disposed in close proximity to the peripheries ofthe saws, a suitablywarranged blast-supply pipe, and a series ofblastnozzles depending from said pipe and having at their lower endscurved jet-tips disposed in close proximity and tangcntially to thetoothed peripheries of the saws and in direct line with the upper sideot' said detlectingboard whereby the blast will skirt anumber of teethon the saws before reaching said board, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS J. GRIFFIN. lVitnesses:

JOHN Il. Sreenns, HAROLD Il. Smits.

